diff --git a/include/go_plugin/server.hpp b/include/go_plugin/server.hpp
index 6a4cb72..cf84018 100644
--- a/include/go_plugin/server.hpp
+++ b/include/go_plugin/server.hpp
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 #pragma once
 
+#include <condition_variable>
 #include <memory>
+#include <mutex>
 #include <ostream>
 #include <string>
+#include <sys/types.h>
+#include <thread>
 #include <vector>
 
 #include <grpcpp/grpcpp.h>
@@ -85,8 +89,8 @@ class PluginServer {
     bool Start(std::string* error = nullptr);
 
     /**
-     * Blocks until the server stops (i.e. until the host process exits or
-     * Shutdown() is called).
+     * Blocks until the server stops (i.e. until Shutdown() is called or the
+     * host process exits — see the parent-death watchdog started by Start()).
      */
     void Wait();
 
@@ -97,9 +101,24 @@ class PluginServer {
     int port() const { return port_; }
 
 private:
+    // Watches for the host (parent) process disappearing. go-plugin hosts stop a
+    // plugin by killing it, but when the host itself dies unexpectedly (e.g. it
+    // is SIGKILLed) nothing signals the plugin and Wait() would block forever,
+    // orphaning the process. The watchdog detects reparenting (getppid changes)
+    // and calls Shutdown(), mirroring the Go go-plugin server's built-in
+    // orphan protection. Started by Start(), stopped by Shutdown()/destruction.
+    void StartParentWatchdog();
+    void StopParentWatchdog();
+
     ServeConfig config_;
     std::unique_ptr<grpc::Server> server_;
     int port_ = 0;
+
+    std::thread parent_watchdog_;
+    std::mutex watchdog_mu_;
+    std::condition_variable watchdog_cv_;
+    bool watchdog_stop_ = false;
+    pid_t host_pid_ = 0;
 };
 
 /** Returned by the Serve() convenience function. */
diff --git a/src/server.cpp b/src/server.cpp
index bf61a52..5f86038 100644
--- a/src/server.cpp
+++ b/src/server.cpp
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <cerrno>
+#include <chrono>
 #include <cstdlib>
 #include <cstring>
 #include <iostream>
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@ int PickPort() {
 PluginServer::PluginServer(ServeConfig config) : config_(std::move(config)) {}
 
 PluginServer::~PluginServer() {
+  StopParentWatchdog();
   if (server_) {
     server_->Shutdown();
     server_->Wait();
@@ -103,6 +105,11 @@ bool PluginServer::Start(std::string *out_error) {
     return false;
   };
 
+  // Record the launching host's pid up front, before any startup work could let
+  // it reparent us — this is the baseline the parent-death watchdog compares
+  // against. The watchdog itself only starts once startup succeeds (below).
+  host_pid_ = getppid();
+
   // ── 1. Magic cookie check ────────────────────────────────────────────
   if (!ValidateMagicCookie(config_.handshake)) {
     return fail("magic cookie mismatch: plugin not invoked by a go-plugin host "
@@ -160,6 +167,10 @@ bool PluginServer::Start(std::string *out_error) {
       << "|" << server_cert_b64 << "\n";
   out.flush();
 
+  // Startup succeeded and Wait() is about to become the plugin's blocking point:
+  // start watching the host (host_pid_, captured at the top of Start()).
+  StartParentWatchdog();
+
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -169,10 +180,44 @@ void PluginServer::Wait() {
 }
 
 void PluginServer::Shutdown() {
+  // Stop (and, for external callers, join) the watchdog before tearing down the
+  // server, so no watchdog thread outlives Shutdown() for an external caller.
+  StopParentWatchdog();
   if (server_)
     server_->Shutdown();
 }
 
+void PluginServer::StartParentWatchdog() {
+  parent_watchdog_ = std::thread([this]() {
+    std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lock(watchdog_mu_);
+    while (!watchdog_stop_) {
+      // Reparenting (parent pid changes, typically to the reaper/init) means the
+      // host that launched us is gone. Drive the same Shutdown() the host would
+      // have, so we don't linger as an orphan.
+      if (getppid() != host_pid_) {
+        lock.unlock();
+        std::cerr << "go-plugin: host process exited, shutting down" << std::endl;
+        Shutdown();
+        return;
+      }
+      watchdog_cv_.wait_for(lock, std::chrono::seconds(1));
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+void PluginServer::StopParentWatchdog() {
+  {
+    std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(watchdog_mu_);
+    watchdog_stop_ = true;
+  }
+  watchdog_cv_.notify_all();
+  // The watchdog reaches here via its own Shutdown() call on the host-death
+  // path; it must never join itself (that deadlocks). The destructor joins it.
+  if (parent_watchdog_.joinable() &&
+      parent_watchdog_.get_id() != std::this_thread::get_id())
+    parent_watchdog_.join();
+}
+
 // ── Serve convenience function ────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 ServeResult Serve(const ServeConfig &config) {
diff --git a/vcpkg.json b/vcpkg.json
index 134f976..2eec772 100644
--- a/vcpkg.json
+++ b/vcpkg.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "go-plugin-cpp",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
+  "version": "0.1.1",
   "dependencies": [
     "grpc",
     "openssl",